Kennedy: We always believed from the start that we would be here

Melbourne City FC centre-back Alanna Kennedy has praised the resilience and belief of her teammates as they prepare for their third straight Grand Final appearance.

Mixed results throughout the season saw City leave it to their last fixture of the regular season to qualify for the 2017-18 Westfield W-League Finals Series with a 3-0 win over Newcastle Jets at McDonald Jones Stadium.

Despite finishing in fourth position, City would go on to book their spot in the Grand Final after defeating this seasons Premiers Brisbane Roar 2-0 following a scintillating second-half display of football.

According to Kennedy, City’s ability to perform when it matters most comes down to the belief inside the dressing room.

“I think the best way to explain it is, that you said people were concerned, no one in camp was concerned at all,” the Matildas international said.

“We trust that we have the ability in our squad and I think the experience of the players that we have were able to step up when it counts.

“It’s got us in the position that we are in now, so I think that we always believed from the start that we would be here.”

The 23-year-old will face her former Club, as City take on Sydney FC in Sunday afternoon’s Grand Final, a match-up and challenge that the defender is looking forward to.

“I’m obviously very happy for the Club that they’ve been able to bounce back and make it to the Final this year,” Kennedy said.

“I’m very happy to be wearing the City shirt this weekend and hopefully it will be a great match and that we can come out on top.”

Ahead of the match, Kennedy says that both her and her teammates are confident that at their best they can beat anyone.

“Obviously I don’t carry the weight of the last two seasons but I think everyone is confident, obviously we understand that we still need to play at our best but I don’t know, there might be some nerves with some of the girls but it’s been pretty positive this week,” she said.

“Sydney have a lot of depth all over the park as well, but I think when you match our players to theirs, when we are at our best, we will be the better team.

“I think that it’s great to know that with the experience of the players that we have, when we need those players, we can switch on in those moments which gives us a lot of confidence.”